The invention relates to a chain joint for link chains, having two identical, substantially U-shaped joint halves which are releasably connected to one another and each have an inner leg and an outer leg, the mutually facing sides of the inner and outer legs being connected to one another in the closed position of the joint by at least two in each case and at most four pairs of holding teeth in each case, and a supporting element for the joint halves being arranged between the mutually facing sides of the inner legs.
From German Patent Specification No. 1,901,367, a chain joint of the abovementioned type is known, wherein the inner and outer legs are connected to one another by two pairs of holding teeth formed with teeth of substantially the same thickness. It has been found that the strength of the known chain joint does not reach the desired values and that, inspite of the use of comparatively strong outer legs, the chain link breaks in the zone of the holding tooth of the outer leg, which is located most closely to the shackle base of the joint halves. If it is taken into account that the cross-section of the outer legs is greatest at the point of rupture, the conclusion can be drawn that stress peaks arise at the said point. Efforts to control the stress peaks by enlarging the cross-section of the outer legs had to be unsuccessful, if only because the dimensions of the chain joint must match the dimensions of the chain links belonging to the chain joint, that is to say because they must not differ too widely from the latter, in particular with respect to their external shape, since they must pass over the same chain wheels as the chain links. The indicated difficulties have had the result that chain joints of the generic type under discussion have been unable to gain acceptance in practice, inspite of numerous advantages.